The present invention relates to a disk device, and further to a hard disk device as an external storage device for a computer or the like.
Conventionally a hard disk device has been used as an external storage device for a computer or the like. Capacity of a hard disk device has been becoming increasingly larger in association with improvement in performance of a computer and increase in a program size of software used therein. For this reason, also a recording density in a disk device has substantially increased, and also it is now strongly required to make higher a data transfer rate in data communications.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing configuration of a general magnetic disk device based on the conventional technology. In this magnetic disk device, there are provided such devices as a plurality sheets of disk 81, a spindle motor (SPM) 82 for rotating the disk devices, a carriage 84 having a magnetic head 83 at its head, and a voice coil motor (VCM) 85 for rotating the carriage 84. The disk 81, spindle motor 82, magnetic head 83, carriage 84, and voice coil motor 85 are accommodated in an enclosure comprising a base and a cover, and constitute a shielded head disk assembly (HDA) 80 (also called disk enclosure (DE)).
Provided on a flexible printed circuit sheet connected to the carriage 84 or between the carriage 84 and a printed circuit board outside the disk assembly (HDA) 80 is a head IC 86 comprising a write amplifier and a preamplifier. The write amplifier switches a polarity of a recording current to be supplied to the magnetic head 83 according to write data. The preamplifier amplifiers a reproducing voltage (a read signal) detected by the magnetic head 83. This head IC 86 is provided in the disk assembly (HDA) 80.
In the magnetic disk device, a printed circuit board is attached to a bottom plate of an enclosure for the disk assembly (HDA) 80 from the outside. This printed circuit board is connected to the flexible printed circuit sheet inside the enclosure for the disk assembly (HDA) 80 via a connector. Provided on this external attached printed circuit board are a hard disk controller (HDC) circuit 70, a buffer circuit 71, a read channel circuit 72, a servo demodulating circuit 73, a VCM driving circuit 74, an SPM driving circuit 75, a digital signal processor (DSP) circuit 76, and a microcontrol unit (MCU) circuit 77.
The HDC circuit 70 controls an interface (not shown) for transaction of various commands or data with a CPU (central processing unit) in an upper apparatus such as a basic system of a computer. Also the HDC circuit 70 generates a control signal for controlling a format for regenerating record on a disk. The buffer circuit 71 temporally stores therein write data sent from the CPU 9 and read data read out from a disk.
The read channel circuit 72 comprises a modulating circuit for recording write data in a disk, a parallel-to-serial conversion circuit for converting parallel write data to serial data, a demodulating circuit for reproducing read data from the disk, a serial-to-parallel conversion circuit for converting serial read data to parallel data.
The servo demodulating circuit 73 demodulates a servo pattern for positioning recorded on a disk by means of peak holding or integration. The VCS driving circuit 74 has a power amplifier for allowing to flow a driving current to the voice coil motor 85. The SPM driving circuit 75 has a power amplifier for allowing a driving current to flow to the spindle motor 82.
The DSP circuit 76 has a microprocessor for controlling a servo circuit for positioning the magnetic head 83. And, the DSP circuit 76 recognizes a position signal outputted from the servo demodulating circuit according to a program stored in a memory, controls a driving circuit in the VCM driving circuit, and also controls rpm of a magnetic disk device under control by a driving current from the SPM driving circuit or the like.
The MCU circuit 77 provides controls over the HDC circuit 70, DSP circuit 76, and buffer circuit 71 according to a program stored in a memory.
In the disk device having the configuration as described above, write data is transferred from the read data channel 72 provided on a printed circuit board outside the enclosure via a flexible printed circuit sheet to a write amplifier in the head IC 86. Rise and fall of the write data are recorded as they are in the disk.
For this reason, rise and fall of a write data pulse must be transferred from the read channel data 72 to the write amplifier rapidly and also accurately. For that purpose, write data is transferred as a differential and balanced type of serial data to a write amplifier.
There has been proposed an idea (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 9-55023) that a parallel-to-serial converter is provided just before the write amplifier, and write data is transferred as parallel data in a transfer path until it reaches the parallel-to-serial converter, by which the write data is converted to serial data to be supplied to the write amplifier. In this invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 9-55023, a write compensation circuit as a record-timing correcting circuit for correcting a timing for recording write data is provided just before the parallel-to-serial converter, and for this reason, the write compensation circuit is structured as a circuit for handling parallel data.
In a device having the configuration as shown in FIG. 10, however, a flexible printed circuit sheet used to transfer write data is long for the purpose to insure movability of the carriage 84 and also to transfer data to the outside of the enclosure. So, with a high write data transfer rate and a small pulse width as realized in the advanced technology developed in recent years, a pulse amplitude of write data becomes lower after it is transmitted from the read channel circuit 72 until it reaches a write amplifier. Because of the feature as described above, a data recording position (rising and falling positions of a write data pulse) in a disk may become inaccurate, which may in turn degrade a reproducing margin and lower reliability of data.
Also, in the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 9-55023, the write compensation circuit is a circuit for parallel data, so that configuration of the circuit is complicated, which may cause the circuit to be larger in its scale as well as a heating value during the operation to extremely increase.
It is an object of the invention to provide a storage device which can transfer data at a higher rate as compared to that in the conventional technology and especially which can transfer write data at a high speed without causing lowering of amplitude of a write data pulse.
With the present invention, as an internal recording circuit capable of receiving parallel data is provided inside an enclosure thereof, a serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before becomes remarkably shorter as compared to that in a magnetic disk device based on the conventional technology, so that write data can be transferred at a high speed without compensating a pulse amplitude by widening a pulse width.
Further parallel data transfer is executed in a section where a long transfer path is required to be provided between an external recording circuit outside the enclosure and an internal recording circuit inside the enclosure, so that write data can be transferred at a high speed without compensating a pulse amplitude by widening a pulse width.
Further, with the invention described above, as a write compensation circuit is provided between the parallel-to-serial conversion circuit and the write amplifier, data inputted to the write compensation circuit and data outputted therefrom are serial data, so that the write compensation circuit may comprise a circuit for handling serial data. For this reason, the currently existing write compensation circuit for serial data can be used as a write compensation circuit.
With the present invention, a serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before the write amplifier including an encoder circuit can be accommodated in an enclosure, so that the serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before is remarkably shorted as compared to that in the conventional type of magnetic disk device. Also in a section where a long transfer path is provided between an external recording circuit outside the enclosure and an internal recording circuit inside the enclosure, data is transferred in the parallel mode, so that write data can be transferred at a high speed without causing the pulse amplitude to be lowered.
With the present invention, a serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before the write amplifier including a write compensation circuit can be accommodated within an enclosure thereof, so that the serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before is remarkably shorted as compared to that in the conventional type of magnetic disk device, and also data is transferred in the parallel mode in a section where a long transfer path is provided between an external recording circuit outside the enclosure and an internal recording circuit inside the enclosure, and for this reason write data can be transferred at a high speed without causing the pulse amplitude to be lowered.
With the present invention, data is transferred in the parallel mode in a transfer path between an external reproducing circuit and an internal reproducing circuit, so that not only write data, but also read data can be transferred at a high speed.
With the present invention, a serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before the write amplifier including a precoder circuit can be accommodated within an enclosure, so that the serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before is remarkably shorted as compared to that in the conventional type of magnetic disk device, and also in a section where a long transfer path is provided between an external recording circuit outside the enclosure and an internal recording circuit inside the enclosure, data is transferred in the parallel mode, so that write data can be transferred at a high speed without compensating a pulse amplitude by means of widening a pulse width.
With the present invention, a serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before the write amplifier including a write compensation circuit can be accommodated within an enclosure, so that the serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before is remarkably shorted as compared to that in the conventional type of magnetic disk device, and also in a section where a long transfer path is provided between an external recording circuit outside the enclosure and an internal recording circuit inside the enclosure, data is transferred in the parallel mode, so that write data can be transferred at a high speed without compensating a pulse amplitude by means of widening a pulse width.
With the present invention, data is transferred in the parallel mode between an external reproducing circuit and an internal reproducing circuit, so that not only write data, but also read data can be transferred at a high speed.
With the present invention, also a transfer path for a clock signal for writing data can also be accommodated within an enclosure, so that the transfer path is remarkably shorted as compared to that in the conventional technology, and for this reason also a frequency of a clock signal can be made higher, and write data can be transferred at a further higher speed.
With the present invention, a serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before is remarkably shorted as compared to that in the conventional technology, and also data is transferred in the parallel mode from an external record reproducing circuit to an internal recording circuit, so that write data can be transferred to a head at a high speed. Also a transfer path from some or all of circuits constituting the internal recording circuit to the head can be made shorter, so that reliability in write data transfer can be improved and also the write data can be transferred at a high speed.
With the present invention, a serial transfer path between a write amplifier and a circuit just before is remarkably shorter as compared to that in the conventional technology, and also data is transferred in the parallel mode from an external recording circuit to an internal recording circuit, so that write data can be transferred to a head at a high speed. Also a transfer path from some or all of the circuits constituting the internal recording circuit to the head can be made shorter, and for this reason reliability in write data transfer can be improved and also the write data can be transferred at a high speed.
With the present invention, configuration of an external recording and/or external reproducing circuit and an internal recording and/or internal reproducing circuit can be simplified to reduce a space in an enclosure for installation thereof, and also the circuit or circuits can be accommodated in a chip, so that protection against noise from the chip is insured, which makes it possible to provide a compact and high reliability storage device.
With the present invention, timing of rise and fall of a write data pulse degraded when transferred through a long serial transfer path between an external recording circuit outside an enclosure and an internal recording circuit inside the enclosure is reproduced and transmitted by an amplifier in the internal recording circuit, so that write data can be transferred at a high speed.
Other objects and features of this invention will become understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.